The USMNT’s supposed “Golden Generation” keeps wasting golden chances, and the players must hold themselves accountableLOS ANGELES – “We need to play with personality, we need to play relaxed, we need to play with intensity. When we do these things, we’re a really good team. But when we don’t, we’re an average team.”A spot-on analysis of the USMNT’s CONCACAF Nations League performance, right?But here’s the thing: that quote isn’t from Thursday night. It’s not even from Mauricio Pochettino. Indeed, former U.S. boss Gregg Berhalter said those words in September 2022 after the USMNT’s loss to Japan, just weeks before the World Cup. On that day, with so much at stake, the U.S. failed to rise to the occasion. Nearly three years later, that same theme feels more relevant than ever.This is a talented group of players, for sure, but those words are a cautionary tale of what can happen when attitude and intensity are missing. Pochettino, the U.S. manager brought in to reignite a meandering program, repeatedly bemoaned his side’s lack of both after Thursday night’s 1-0 loss to Panama in the Nations League semifinals.Berhalter is long gone, Pochettino hired as his high-profile replacement. The Argentine’s arrival was supposed to be the wake-up call this team needed. He was brought in to be the leader, the one that can finally coax a much-needed mentality shift out of this talented group of American stars. It’s what makes moments like Thursday’s so frustrating: this team is too good to lose these games, yet they seem to find ways time and time again.At some point, that isn’t all down to coaching. That’s not down to the rah-rah speeches in the locker room or the training sessions or the tactics. At some point, it comes down to one question: does this team have it or not? And until they discover it, their hopes of even putting in a really good showing at next summer’s World Cup look slimmer and slimmer.The USMNT’s supposed “Golden Generation” keeps wasting golden chances and, at some point, the players that make up that generation need to look in the mirror and figure out why. Pochettino is a fantastic coach, one who can help take a team to a new level. He can’t save them from themselves, though, and this group’s future will be defined by their ability to look in the mirror and reflect that desire on the field.
